How to Find Your Personal Path to Success

Finding your perfect job, career and life may be easier said than done, but with strong commitment, focus and effort it is possible. Luckily, your return on investment should far outweigh the toil.

What would you give to have your perfect job, career, and life?

People who are happiest and most fulfilled live what is the perfect job, career and life for them. This does not mean living their life would be perfect for you. Like a snowflake, perfection is defined individually. It is achievable for anyone willing to put the effort into defining, discovering and pursuing it.

Who doesn’t want to be considered successful? But success doesn’t happen for everyone because not all people realize that there are different paths to success and each person’s path differs for the next person’s path. And the path isn’t always a straight line. A person may have to travel on many different paths through life—some will lead to dead ends while others will take a person in a completely different direction. How you use this time determines whether or not you find the success you are after.

Listen for the Winds of Change

It can be said that procrastination is the means for dealing with the things you don’t want to do. If you find your success is stagnating, it might just mean it’s time for change. Few people will ever find their path to success, if they fail to recognize when they are on the wrong path. How many times have you heard the phrases, “I shouldn’t have stayed there so long.” and “I was miserable all those years.” While we all have to do things we don’t want to, there are very few situations where you really have no other choice. Find a career and life goal that means something to you, and you’ll probably discover you’re not as much of a procrastinator as you thought you were.

Make Do With What You Have

Everybody has to start from somewhere, and it is rarely near the top. Your path to success may start on a very humble road. But that shouldn’t matter. As long as you have faith in your destiny and take pride in your work, no matter how great or small, your good deeds will eventually get noticed. Thoughts like, “This isn’t worth my time.” or “This is beneath me.” will only crush your success. Make the most of every opportunity. You never know what will either get noticed or lead you in the direction of what you are meant to do.

Define What Success Means to You

People spend a lifetime reaching for goals they believe are what everybody should want. However, only you know what will make you a success. The only way to maximize your potential is to take time to understand what it is that you need. Forget about what society tells you and ask yourself what brings you joy on a day-to-day basis. Happiness comes from your inner core. While you may not have control over every moment in your life, you do have control over what these events mean to you. Be prepared to do some thinking, as this may be something you don’t allow yourself to do very often.

Define Your Goals

Along your path to success you will need to discover what it is that you want. Ask yourself questions about what you want and what would make you feel good. Then ask yourself how you can make this happen. A goal is a tangible thing that leads to a feeling. So, your goal wouldn’t be to be happy, but accomplishing your goal would make you happy. Your goal wouldn’t be to be in love. Your goal would be to find someone you can be in a long-term relationship with. Finding that relationship would make you happy.

Take a Risk

People live much of their lives on the sidelines because they are afraid that if they act outside of the box, someone will disapprove. We prefer getting approval from others, as this is something we are taught from a young age. We quickly learn how unpleasant it can be when an adult scolds us for not following the rules. However, you are stifling your creativity by continuing to live for the approval of others. Learn to say no, take risks when it involves something you want, and be the person who makes you comfortable. You will discover a world of new possibilities once you do!

Forgiving Your Mistakes, and Giving Yourself Permission to Succeed

With risk comes failure. In other words, along your path of action you are going to come across many mistakes. The important thing is to perceive these moments as being “necessary to a worthwhile achievement” (Henry Ford), otherwise, you may lose sight of your path, become afraid of rejection and find yourself back at the beginning of this article. You should never be afraid to take a risk because you’re afraid of being rejected. Fear is simply the result of failing to do anything!